


Where My Demons Hide

by ACertainZest



Category: Castle
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:13:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4576428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACertainZest/pseuds/ACertainZest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU: In a different kind of world, Rick Castle discovers a different kind of crime-fighter. Posted for CastleFanficMonday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where My Demons Hide

_Early autumn, 2004_

Rick Castle stumbles out of the nightclub at oh-who-cares-o'clock, more drunk than sensible but not so drunk as to be senseless. The bimbo he had been hoping to leave with evaporated a while back, and then things weren't as much fun, so he shook off what few friends and sycophants were still around, and now here he is, weaving his way down the sidewalk. He should really get home. He's supposed to start shadowing that homicide cop, Detective Montgomery, first thing in the morning. It could be interesting, might even give him some sorely needed new ideas for Derrick Storm. So he really ought to get at least a couple hours sleep.

Castle's a New Yorker born and bred so he knows how to avoid the sketchy alleyways even when he's this drunk, but somehow there's a small street -- just barely big enough to be maybe not exactly an alley -- that looks like a good shortcut, and so, being drunk and overly confident in his physical prowess, he decides sure, what the hell.

Midway down the block he begins to get that tingly feeling at the back of his neck that tells him maybe this wasn't the best idea, but before he can react to it, think it through, he's being jumped from behind. Strong wiry arms lock around his neck and pull on his head, and he's gasping, reaching behind him trying to grab the guy, bending forward trying to flip the attacker over his shoulder like they do in the movies -- turns out that's not as easy as the stunt doubles make it look. 

Something's weird and wrong about this. It's not like Castle has never been in a fight; he's a big man and he knows how to handle himself; but this guy has a strange strength in him for how skinny he is. Bony. Skin and bones, and Castle manages somehow to twist out of his grasp and get a look at the guy's face, and holy hell, what IS this? The guy's forehead is all lumpy and misshapen, his eyes seem to gleam yellow (huh?), and his teeth -- his teeth are bared and they are way too sharp for comfort. It only takes a moment of Castle pausing to gape in horrified astonishment and then the guy is on him again, way-too-strong hands bending his head over to the side, baring his neck, a forearm pressing into his windpipe and he chokes, struggling to pull in a breath.

Then suddenly freedom. Dizziness sends him stumbling backward and falling clumsily on his ass, heaving deep painful gulps of air, and he blinks fuzzy eyes to see that the attacker is now grappling with someone else. It's...a girl? A young woman. An amazing tall slender fantasy of a woman, with long chestnut hair flowing behind her as she wrestles with the guy, who is at least six inches shorter than her -- Castle's eyes flicker down to her feet and take in the four-inch stiletto heels and okay, maybe that's part of the advantage, but oh man, this chick has some moves. Castle was raised to be a gentleman which means he should be getting up and rescuing her, but it slowly filters into his consciousness that in fact the exact opposite is happening. She's rescuing _him_. 

She and the attacker are whirling around, spinning and hitting and kicking each other. She makes the fighting look like a dance, easy and fluid, and even when the guy gets in a hit on her, she hardly seems to notice. Somehow he's behind her now, grabbing up at her neck, and she bends over and does the flip thing -- dammit, she makes it look easy just like in the movies; how come Castle couldn't make that move work? The attacker is on the ground, and she's got one of those insane stilettos on his belly, holding him down, giving Castle a chance to gape at the incredible length of her legs. She's reaching into her leather jacket, pulling out a...a stick? A goddamn pointy stick. In one smooth move she bends down and thrusts it into the guy's chest.

And he turns to dust.

The guy who attacked Castle literally explodes into a cloud of dust all over the pavement and is gone.

Holy shit.

What the _hell_?

"You okay?" the young woman is asking, holding out a hand to help him up, all calm and cool detachment. She's not even really looking at him, her eyes scanning the alley for more trouble. Stunned, Castle takes the slim hand she offers, and she hauls him to his feet with surprising strength.

"A vampire," he gasps, staring at the dust that's now blowing aimlessly around the alley along with all the other random detritus of a New York street. "That was a fucking vampire, and you - you -"

"Slayed it," she supplies, nodding briefly. "It's what I do." And she turns to stride away.

Castle bursts out of his daze soon enough to realize that this astonishing girl is about to get away -- she's walking out of his life like it's nothing and he'll never see her again, and that just cannot happen. "Wait!" he yells, tripping over his feet to run after her. "Wait, what's your name?" _So I'll know what to moan when I jerk off later_ , he doesn't say, but she pauses and turns her head halfway, and from the way her eyes narrow in profile, he's sure she heard it, even though he didn't voice it.

When she speaks again her low voice is full of bitterness. "Not that it matters, but it's Ka-" but then she glances fully back at him, and it's her turn to look surprised. "You're - you're Richard Castle?"

He can't help letting out a short bark of laughter, because it's entirely ridiculous to imagine that this...this _superhero_ who just saved his life would be fangirling at him. She isn't. Is she?

"Um. I am Richard Castle, yes." He reaches for his suave and comes up empty. "Um. 'Ka' what? Karen? Carla?"

"Kate," she murmurs, staring at him with something like hunger. "Kate, the vampire slayer."

"Kate, oh my god." Castle's suave has entirely left the building and all he has left is his not-so-inner child. "The way you took that guy out, oh my god, that was so fucking cool. An actual for real vampire, I can't even believe it. Vampires are real? Seriously? How the hell did you do that?"

"I told you, it's what I do." Now Kate, unlike him, is in full command of herself again. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Castle. Try to stay out of dark alleys from now on, okay? I can't be everywhere." And for the second time she's turning on those heels and striding away. All he can do is stand there and watch the gentle sway of her hips, her endless legs, her silky brown hair. He feels bereft. He feels like he'll never be the same.

He goes back to his loft, sends the babysitter home, and jerks off frantically in the shower, thinking of her. Kate, the vampire slayer. Holy shit.

**Author's Note:**

> The chronology/timeline doesn't really work if you think about it too closely, so don't. 
> 
> This is a one-shot for now, but may continue at some point.


End file.
